MULTILAYERED ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE OF LISNA SLOBIDKA XII IN THE SUB-CARPATHIAN AREA

Abstract

The article examines and introduces into scientific circulation materials from the Lisna Slobidka XII site in the Sub-Carpathian area. The site is located near the village, specifically in its south-eastern outskirts (in the Gryada tract). Ancient settlements occupied the gentle slope of the right bank of the Dobrovidka River (a left tributary of the Prut River). The collection consists of artefacts found during surface surveys in 2008—2009 and 2025. The earliest finds are associated with the Neolithic period and consist of a small collection of flint artefacts. In general, flint artefacts correspond to the Linear Pottery culture (LBK), and it is likely that the materials found belong to this culture, although no pottery of this culture was found during the exploratory work. The LBK sites closest to Lisna Slobidka ХІІ tend to be located near the Dniester River, which makes this site interesting in terms of determining the spread of the culture in the Upper Prut region in more detail. In the Eneolithic period, the area was inhabited by people who followed Trypillian traditions. The material they left behind suggests that this was a late stage of the culture — СI (Shypyntsi group). However, there are also fragments that, based on the characteristics of the ceramic clay, can be dated to an earlier period — Trypillia ВI—ВII, but they are too vague to say for sure. The collection also includes materials from the Corded Ware culture (CWC): two stone axes, a flint arrowhead, and the bottom of a vessel. The available source base indicates late settlement of the CWC on the right bank of the Dniester within the Podillia group, which occurred in the second half of the 3rd millennium BC, as further confirmed by materials from Lisna Slobidka XII. The reason for such a dense concentration of CWC sites in the region may be linked to the presence of such a valuable natural resource as salt, which is abundant in the local area.